Disclaimer – Still own nothing.

AN – So this is the last chapter of this story. For those that want more Falling Skies fics, especially Hal centric ones, don't worry. I still have at least two more up my sleeve, maybe more. We'll see. I'm also going to really try to start and finish more chapters for Missing Scenes. But for now, please review and

Enjoy!

Ben listened to Anne's speech quietly as he stood beside her, hands tied behind his back with zip ties. In front of them, stood a line of military soldiers, guns in their hands, ready to be raised and fired. At them. He had come to the base with the hope that the soldiers would side with them against the Espheni, just like everyone else. And with the hope that their medical supplies would be able to save Hal, but what they found was everything opposite to what they wanted.

After only spending a few hours in the base, Ben had been jumped by the soldiers and knocked out. When he woke up strapped down to a stretcher, on his stomach, he knew what was going on. It had been a long time since anyone didn't trust him, practically fear him because of his spikes, but then again, these people hadn't ever seen someone who was harnessed before. But when that doctor or scientist, or whatever the heck he was, came in, he quickly realized that it was more than that. It wasn't until they led him out to where his Dad was, did he see that they were wrong about this base.

Before he knew it, he, and his Dad were declared traitors by the soldiers and were sentenced to death by firing squad. Not long after that, Anne was thrown in the cells where they were being held along with them. Luckily for them, the soldiers guarding them clearly knew something was up with the leader of the base and helped them escape, and though it failed miserably, at least his brothers and Dad were safe. He was still hoping that Hal would be okay, but if what Anne said before they left was anything to go by, there was a chance hid big brother might already be on death's door.

Ben was pulled out of his reverie when one of the soldiers was suddenly standing in front of him, and put the black bag over his head. All of his instincts were telling him to shake the bag off his head, to use his strength to snap the zip ties, but it was like he couldn't move. His entire body felt frozen and stiff. Whether it was from the sudden fear that he was actually about to die, or because his body was still healing from having one of his spikes ripped, he didn't know and ultimately, it didn't matter.

The next thing he heard clearly, was one of the soldiers start to count down. With each passing number, Ben felt his body tense more and more, blood pumping so hard that it was starting to become the only sound he could hear. He wasn't even aware the countdown was over until the word 'fire' broke through.

But there was no bang of a gun going off, no bullet hitting him, no pain whatsoever. There was just silence, until the soldier yelled 'fire' again. Yet again, there was no bang, no bullet, no pain. Again, the soldier yelled for the other soldiers to fire and there was still nothing.

Suddenly, there was a loud crashing and people yelling, Ben could hear the sound of an approaching a car and he instinctively moved backwards, not wanting to get hit. He wasn't sure what was going on, but when heard his Dad's voice, he felt the tension and fear leave his body. He knew his Dad would come back for them, that he wasn't going to let anything happen to him.

The black bag was suddenly pulled off his head and his Dad stood in front him, fear and anger mixed on his face.

"Are you okay?" His Dad asked quickly as he cut through the zip ties that held his hands behind his back. Ben nodded and his Dad moved to help Anne, but Matt was already there doing that.

Ben rubbed his wrists, trying to get the feeling of the plastic off of them as he watched the soldiers that had come with his Dad free the rest of the 2nd Mass that were being kept behind a large fence. He looked around, trying to see if he could see his brother or Maggie, but the only thing that caught his attention was one of the soldiers that was part of the 14th Virginia, the one that had counted down and yelled fire, raising his gun and pointing it right at him.

BANG!

The soldier fell down to the ground, blooding pouring out of his back. Someone had shot him from behind and at an angle. Ben looked up, wanting to know who had shot him, who had kill him to save his life. What he saw made his breath catch in his throat. Up on the rooftop, was Maggie, and Hal. His big brother, was perched beside Maggie, and had his gun up, pointing right where the soldier had stood.

Ben watched his older brother lower the gun and give him a small smile, and he smiled in return. They were okay, all of them were okay. He and Anne weren't shot by the firing squad, his Dad and Matt were right there beside him, and Hal was apparently, no longer sick. They were all okay.

FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS

"You almost done?" Ben asked his stepmom, his impatience almost completely hidden by his exhaustion. The only thing keeping him awake was the uncomfortable position he was in, lying on his stomach so Anne could look at his spikes, and the fact he was desperate to see Hal.

Once everything had calmed down in the courtyard, which happened quickly after Weaver exposed their leader, Katy, as an Espheni spy, Anne practically dragged him to the infirmary to look him over. She had heard that he was tortured and had a spike ripped out when they were in the cells, and now wanted to check him over. He had briefly seen Maggie and Hal coming to the infirmary too, but he had no idea if they were still there or not since Anne took him to a private part of the infirmary.

"Yup, I'm done. You can sit up." Anne told him. Getting into a sitting position, Ben grabbed the black sweater he had been wearing before and slid it on.

"Do you know how Hal is?" Ben asked, doing up the zipper.

"I managed to talk to one of the nurses that stayed in Fayetteville with him, she said that the antibiotics that I switched him to before we left started working. He should be fine but he has to finish them. I want him to stay in the infirmary for at least a week, and to come for a check up every day for another week to make sure that the infection is gone though." Anne replied.

"But he is going to be okay?" Ben couldn't help but question. Smiling, Anne nodded.

"Yes, he will be just fine, and so will you, as soon as you go get some sleep. So, to bed, now." Anne ordered, though the smile remained on her face.

"I want to see Hal first." Ben revealed, hopping off the gurney. The doctor thought for a moment, then decided that while the middle Mason son was in desperate need of some rest, he had the right to his brother first.

"Go ahead, but only for a few minutes. You need your rest, and so does he." Anne said. Ben's only response was to head out of the private room and towards his brother.

FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS

Hal sat still and quiet as one of the nurses in the military base's infirmary hooked him back up to an IV filled with the antibiotics. Maggie stood by the foot of the bed where Hal was sitting, making sure that he followed through on his promise. Once the nurse was done, she left the room while Maggie sat down beside her boyfriend.

"How are you feeling?" Maggie asked, placing her hand over his hand that didn't have the plastic tube in it.

"I'm okay, just worried about Ben." Hal told her, clasping her hand in his.

"Don't worry, Anne's with him. He'll be fine." Maggie assured him. Hal nodded, then looked up at her.

"Thank you, for not fighting that much about me coming along, even though you didn't want me too." Hal said, lowering his head to rest against hers.

"Your welcome. Just make sure you keep up your end of the deal. You're stuck on that IV for a week, and no break out attempts." Maggie replied with a smile. Hal groaned, annoyed by what the nurse told him, but nodded.

"Fine, as long as you come and keep me company every now and then. Otherwise I'd lose my mind out of boredom." Hal said.

"Trust me, I'll be around more than that." Maggie promised, her smile growing wider.

"Good." Hal responded, then moved closer and kissed her, which she returned without hesitation. They pulled away all too soon when they heard someone knock on the door. They both looked up to see Anthony standing in the doorway.

"Maggie, do you think you could give us a moment alone?" Hal asked, knowing he would have to the talk to the other soldier sooner or later. Maggie looked very reluctant at the idea of leaving him alone with the man who had sided with Pope against them, but ultimately nodded.

"Yeah sure. I heard that the cafeteria is serving lunch anyways. I'll bring you back something." Maggie told him as she stood up off the bed.

"Thanks." Hal said. She smiled and walked out of the room, leaving Hal alone with Anthony for the first time since he was rescued.

"Hey. How are you doing?" Anthony asked, looking over the young man. The last time he saw him, he was sick from the infection and completely out of it.

"I'm fine. You?" Hal wondered. He knew that Anthony was with the 2nd Mass members that had come to the military base first and was locked up with them when they protested the way they were treating his father and brother.

"I'm good." Anthony answered, then lowered his head, almost in shame. Hal instantly knew what Anthony was about to say.

"Hal, about what happened with Pope, I'm, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Anthony apologized. Though his head was lowered so Hal couldn't see him face, he could tell that the cop was trying not to cry by the sound of his voice.

"I know. It's okay." Hal replied softly. Anthony looked up at him in surprise. Whatever response he was expecting, it clearly wasn't that.

"You're not mad." Anthony questioned in shock.

"I was, but not anymore. It wasn't you who kidnapped me, wasn't you who beat me up, wasn't you who was going to kill me and my Dad. Honestly, if you weren't there with Pope, my Dad and I would probably be dead. If it wasn't for you, my Dad and family wouldn't have found me, wouldn't have gotten the jump on Pope. So, thank you for that." Hal explained.

"It's the least I could do. I only wish I did more. I could've helped you a lot sooner." Anthony replied.

"Yeah, you could've, but you helped when it counted. Let's just, leave it at that." Hal told him. Anthony was about to protest, knowing that his actions shouldn't be brushed off like that, but stopped when he saw that Ben had now joined them, giving him a very small glare that wasn't so scary since he looked so exhausted.

"I'll see you around." Anthony quickly excused himself so the two brothers could talk. Hal waited until the former cop was gone before turning his full attention onto his younger brother.

"How are you doing?" Hal asked worriedly. Even though Hal couldn't see any physical injury, he did see the paleness of his brother's skin, and still knew that he had been tortured.

"I'm okay. What about you?" Ben wondered, coming to sit down on the bed beside him to hide the fact that his legs were starting to shake under his weight. Maybe Anne was right about him getting some sleep.

"I'm doing good, feel much better. But Anne still wants me on the IV to make sure. Personally, I think she's being a little paranoid." Hal told him.

"Trust me, she's not. You have no idea what it was like, seeing you so sick." Ben replied with a serious tone.

"I'm sorry. It's not like I did it on purpose." Hal apologized, looking away from his brother to stare at the wall in front of him.

"I know." Ben said, also looking at the wall. For a moment, the two brothers just sat in silence, neither really knowing what to say, then Hal decided to say something.

"Are you sure you're doing okay?" Hal couldn't help but ask again. While he knew he couldn't have done anything, he felt beyond guilty that he wasn't there to protect his brother from whatever the soldiers had done to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? I'm alive, so is Anne, and Dad, and Matt, and you. Spikes are healing me. I'm great." Ben answered, not even aware that the more he talked, the faster his breathing became as the realization of everything that just happened over the last two days started to fully fall on his chest. Hal placed his hand on his brother's shoulder to comfort him.

"Hey, it's okay." Hal told him. It was only then that Ben realized he was starting to hyperventilate. Forcing himself to steady his breathing, Ben felt himself start to calm down slightly, but not by much.

"Ben, what's bugging you? What happened?" Hal questioned, trying to be gentle when all he really wanted to do was demand the teenager to tell him everything that he had been through so he could make it right.

"When, they led us out, and put the bag on my head, I just. I thought it was over, you know. I had no idea that Weaver had gotten the soldiers on our side. It's ridiculous I know, but, I was terrified. I always thought that I wouldn't be afraid of dying, especially if you guys were going to be okay, but I was. They didn't shoot, but I'm still, I don't know." Ben revealed, surprising himself. He never expected to tell anyone that so soon, if at all. And he most definitely didn't expect to tell Hal.

Hal didn't say anything, just rubbed his brother's back to soothe him. He didn't really know what to say that would help him. Only thing that he knew he could do was make sure his brother knew that he was safe and it was over.

"You wanna know something?" Hal asked, finally figuring out what to say. Ben looked over at him curiously and Hal added, "But you can't tell Dad."

Looking more confused than curious, Ben nodded, wanting to know what his older brother was going to say. Hal looked over at the door to make sure it was closed, he didn't want anyone overhearing what he was about to say. When he saw that it was, he looked back at Ben.

"When Pope had me tied up in the cellar, there was one time where he came down. He started talking crap, I couldn't talk back because of the duct tape, but, it ended with him standing right in front of me and pointed his gun at my head. The end of the barrel was literally against my forehead. He pulled the trigger." Hal stopped there and lowered his head, the memory of what happened in the cellar threatening to overwhelm him. Taking deep breath, Hal looked up to see a shocked and horror filled expression on Ben's face.

"It wasn't loaded, but I didn't know that at the time. It was then I truly thought I was going to die, that I knew Pope wasn't making idle threats. And I was terrified." Hal confessed.

"Is that why you told Dad to leave you there?" Ben wondered once he found his voice. Whatever he imagined his brother going through while he was stuck with Pope, he never would've thought of that.

"Yeah. I figured, I was already done for, but I thought I could at least make sure Pope didn't kill Dad." Hal confirmed, nodding his head.

"Well, you didn't really think we'd leave you to die, did you?" Ben asked.

"No, but as weird as it sounds, I hoped you would. Though I didn't know you were all with Dad at the time, so I didn't know you guys had a plan. You didn't really think that we'd let you die either?" Hal repeated the same question.

"Honestly, while I was hoping you wouldn't, it was kind of hard to believe with being lined up, having a black bag placed over my head and a soldier counting down." Ben responded. Hal moved his hand that was still rubbing his brother's back to place on Ben's opposite shoulder and pulled him close, not even caring that he was putting pressure on the cut on his arm.

"I know, believe me, I know. But it's okay. You're safe now." Hal assured the blonde. Ben lowered his head to rest on Hal's shoulder as a few tears managed to slip out. He didn't even realize that he had been fighting them off the entire time they had been talking.

"Thanks for saving me." Ben whispered.

"Anytime geek. Thanks for saving me." Hal replied.

"Anytime jock." For a long moment, the two were silent yet again. Hal was pretty sure that his little brother was starting to fall asleep against him, which didn't surprise the older brother at all. After everything that happened, he had no doubt in his mind that Ben was exhausted, and it was finally catching up to him.

"Hal?" the black-haired man almost jumped when he heard his brother's voice. He had thought he was actually asleep.

"Yeah?" Hal said.

"I'm sorry, about what happened with Maggie. I'm really sorry. I never wanted to hurt you." Ben apologized, his voice quiet and shame filled.

"I know. It's okay, it's okay. I'm sorry too." Ben's only response to that was dig his head more into Hal's shoulder, which surprised Hal a little bit. He couldn't remember the last time Ben had sought comfort like this from him. It was long before the invasion happened, that was for sure.

After another minute, Hal heard his brother's breathing even out, letting him know that the teenager was now asleep. Being as careful and gentle as possible, Hal maneuvered his little brother as well as himself into a more comfortable position, ending with both of them lying down on their sides, Ben's back against his chest while his arms were wrapped around the blonde. Slowly starting to drift off himself, Hal opened his eyes when he felt someone grab his right hand.

Matt was sitting in the chair beside the bed, watching them with a concerned look in his eyes. Hal lifted his left hand, the hand that was wrapped around Ben and stretched it far enough to tousle Matt's short hair which caused the youngest brother to smile.

"We're okay buddy. Everything's okay." Hal told him. Matt nodded, but made no move to leave. Instead, he lowered his head onto the mattress and seemed to start to nodding off like the middle Mason already did. Hal again lifted his left hand and placed it over his younger brother's head. Soon enough, the oldest Mason son felt his own exhaustion start pulling him under too.

FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS

The next day, Ben walked into the main room of the building they were in, looking for his Dad. After spending the rest of yesterday and last night asleep with his brothers, he had healed enough to get back out into the fight, but needed his Dad's okay with it first. He easily found his Dad with Anne, Weaver, Cochise and Dingaan surrounding a large crate that Cochise and Dingaan must've brought when they came back to the military base with the rest of the 2nd Mass that had remained in Fayetteville.

Coming closer to the group, Ben stopped when he felt his spikes suddenly tense, something capturing their attention. They wanted him to go closer. He knew that they were glowing even if he couldn't see them.

"Guys?" Ben called out to them. The five adults surrounding the wooden box looked up over at him.

"This thing, my spikes, it's, it's like it's calling me." Ben told them, walking closer to them.

"It is an Espheni communication device, it would make sense that Ben Mason's spikes are reacting to it." Cochise responded to the teenager's words.

"Maybe I can go in and see what Dingaan saw." Ben suggested, still walking slowly towards the crate that held the device.

"No, no, no, Ben, that's not safe." Anne immediately protested.

"No, not after what you've been through." His Dad was quick to side with the doctor.

"I might be able to translate what the Overlord's are saying." Ben told them.

"That thing gave Ding and me one h*ll of a headache, G*d knows what it'll do to you." Weaver replied.

"Dan's right, absolutely not." His Dad agreed with the Colonel.

"Dad how many times have I heard you say this could be the final showdown? Any information I could get, isn't it worth anything?" Ben questioned his father.

"It's not worth your life." The former President tried to convince him.

"I'll be careful." Ben promised, and shoved his hand into the center of the device before anyone had the chance to stop him.

Suddenly, he was seeing a planet, full of rocks and what looked like lava with smoke and ash and cinders filling the air. He suddenly zoomed in on a massive group of Overlords. They all got down on their knees, bowing down to something. Before he could see what it was, he was pulled out of the trance and was being pulled away from the device by his Dad and Weaver.

"Ben!" Anne called out his name. Weaver let go of him as Anne took his place, putting her hand on his forehead. Ben barely noticed though, all of his focus on was trying to understand what he just saw and heard, as well as trying to catch his breath.

"He's burning up. Dingaan, get him something to cool him down." Anne ordered the mechanic. Ben didn't even notice how hot he felt until Anne said he was.

"Ben, what did you see, what did you hear?" Ben heard his Dad ask.

"Overlords, a lot of them. They were, chanting, like some sort of ritual, to some higher being." Ben revealed, somewhat panting for air.

"Higher than an Overlord?" Anne questioned, and Ben nodded, easily recognizing the shocked expressions on his Dad's face as well as Anne's.

"Cochise, is there something you haven't told us?" Tom quickly put the attention onto the Volm who was standing a little ways away, watching them silently.

"I never thought it possible." Cochise told them, looking stunned himself. Ben looked over at his Dad and Anne, both staring worriedly at each other. Apparently, there was more to the Espheni than they all thought.

AN – The End. If you guys are wondering why I suddenly ended it there, I did that because that's where episode 8 ends for the scenes with the 2nd Mass and thought if would bring the story to more of a close because after this, everything that happens in the show, would happen exactly the same as in the story. Except of course for Isabella, and there'd be a lot more Halgie, but other than that, everything would be exactly alike. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as well as enjoyed this entire story. Like I said before, there are at least two more Falling Skies stories that I want to write but I'm not sure when I'll start them and start uploading them. I am currently working on two others at the moment, looking for a job, and have a bit of an unpredictable schedule. I promise you though, they will get done and be upload as soon as possible. Bye for now!